The University of Michigan has made a commitment to meet the demonstrated financial need of Michigan resident undergraduates who meet all application deadlines. Need-based scholarships and grants, loans, and Work-Study funds are awarded to eligible in-state students whose Cost of Attendance exceeds their family’s financial resources.

Non-resident students and resident students who do not qualify for need-based aid may wish to apply for departmental or private scholarships and supplemental loans to cover the cost of attendance.

How We Award Need-Based Aid

The Office of Financial Aid distributes need-based grant, scholarship, loan, and Work-Study funds equitably among all eligible applicants who apply for financial aid by established deadline dates. Amounts are determined by a combination of demonstrated financial need, federal maximums, available funding, and other factors.

Here's how we determine your demonstrated need: Your Cost of Attendance at U-M for one academic year minus your Student Aid Index (SAI) and other financial resources equals your demonstrated need (eligibility) for need-based financial aid.

Awarding Order

U-M awards financial aid funds in the following order to eligible students:

  1. Federal and state need-based grants and scholarships
    Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, and Michigan Achievement Scholarship. SEOG funds are limited; they are awarded to applicants with the most need.
  2. Tuition-Based Scholarships
    Wolverine Pathways, HAIL, Michigan Fairfax, privately funded tuition based funding, etc.
  3. Institutional Scholarships
    Tappan, Fairfax, Presidential, Victors, etc.
  4. Institutional Grant Funding
    Based on an annually established maximum. All other institutional-awarded assistance is considered and may impact your U-M Grant and Go Blue Grant eligibility.*
  5. Federal Work-Study
  6. Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized (Stafford) Loans
  7. Health Professions Loans, and Nursing Loans
    Federal regulations require these funds to be awarded to students with the greatest need.
  8. M-Pact/Provost Award
    Offered as gap funding to individuals within annually determined low socio-economic status parameters. This will be the first funding reduced should any additional assistance be received. The Provost Award is being phased out and will only be offered to prior recipients completing their degree.

* The university has instituted the Go Blue Guarantee, which pays tuition and mandatory fees for students with family incomes of $125,000 or less and assets below $125,000 (effective fall 2025). The current thresholds are family incomes of $75,000 or less and assets below $75,000. For students who qualify, financial aid may contain a variety of funding sources (Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Opportunity Grant, Michigan Achievement Scholarship, institutional scholarships and grants, and non-UM tuition scholarships and grants). These, together, make up the Go Blue Guarantee. Eligibility details here. Tuition is the cost of classes and mandatory fees are those the university charges to all students. See our Cost of Attendance page for information about other educational costs.

About University Grants and Scholarships

To ensure that students in comparable circumstances are treated equitably, U-M may limit the dollar amount of grant and scholarship assistance awarded from university sources to individual students. If you receive grants or scholarships that exceed your total Cost of Attendance and they include funding from a U-M source, they may be adjusted so that total funding equals the Cost of Attendance.

Supplemental Loans

Students who need additional funds to cover expenses and those who are not eligible for need-based aid may consider supplemental loans such as the federal Direct PLUS Loan and/or private education loans. These require separate applications.

Additional Resources for Out-of-State Students

Non-Michigan residents may need additional resources to cover their costs of attendance. We encourage students to pursue private scholarships and to inquire in their home states about whether state grant funding is available to students attending out-of-state schools. Some students may also be eligible for scholarships from the U-M school or college in which they are enrolled.

Other sources often used by nonresident families are the Federal Direct PLUS Loan (available to the parents of undergraduate students), the Grad PLUS Loan (for graduate students), and private education loans.